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Technology News From TechieInsider.com. Mobile, Marketing, Social Media, Business, Startups, And All Things Awesome!Mon, 27 Oct 2014 13:50:13 +0000en-UShourly1Use Your Phone Without Using Your Phonehttp://www.techieinsider.com/news/16657/phone-phone/
http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16657/phone-phone/#commentsFri, 17 Oct 2014 13:43:38 +0000http://www.techieinsider.com/?p=16657A new mobile app that helps connect people through their smartphones without making actual calls is being touted for how it can help teachers on large school field trips.

The NearZone app utilizes Bluetooth technology along with the base receivers and transmitters in smartphones. The app is able to send messages and locate other users, even without an active WiFi signal.

With the app, people in the same general area can communicate through their phones without having to make full phone calls. On school fields to large museums, for example, NearZone can be used to help coordinate groups, allowing several chaperones to easily stay in touch.

“Anywhere large groups of people are gathered together,” said Developer Ms Nwe, “the app can be used to quickly share information on-site. No need to log into social media or make several calls. This is instant and easy.”

The proximity in which the app functions, is adjustable, and according to its designers its uses are practically limitless.

“We’re always hearing of new ways people can put it to use,” said developer Nwe. “From family reunions to corporate conferences, it allows people to effortlessly reach several people. Nothing has to bounce off a satellite or even be routed through network. It’s all local right in the phone itself.”

The app was initially developed mostly as a social feature, but soon its many practical uses became more and more apparent. It is frequently used in large transportation hubs like airports and rail stations where groups can easily get separated.

For those teachers corralling dozens of grade schoolers out on a field trip, NearZone provides a quick means of connecting with their chaperones. This can help the entire group stay on their schedule, and can ease the process of gathering everyone together at the end of the day.

“That’s the type of uses we love to hear about,” says Nwe, “those very practical ways the app can help people that we’d never really considered.”

]]>http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16657/phone-phone/feed/0Pandacoin Creates First Personal Cryptocurrency-Bankhttp://www.techieinsider.com/news/16629/pandacoin-creates-personal-cryptocurrency/
http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16629/pandacoin-creates-personal-cryptocurrency/#commentsThu, 18 Sep 2014 15:08:01 +0000http://www.techieinsider.com/?p=16629Pandacoin (PND) is the first cryptocurrency to design, develop and package specifically for the mainstream mass market. In order to appeal to the average user across multiple market segments and cultures that are foreign to the concept of decentralized digital currencies, Pandacoin was created to be simple to use, familiar and easy to understand.

The entire cryptocurrency space is still in its infant stages and has yet to see widespread mainstream mass market adoption and usage as a unit of exchange both online and offline. This is the case as early prototypes such as Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin, are generally perceived as complex to use, troublesome to buy, difficult to mine and hard to understand.

By creating multiple products and services which lowers multiple high barriers of entry to the fast paced and complex world of decentralized digital currencies, Pandacoin is a cryptocurrency which encourages increased awareness and adoption by the mainstream mass market.

‘Crypto-Banking’, Low Inflation and Earning 2.5% Annual Interest
Bitcoin, a SHA-256 algorithm cryptocurrency, currently suffers from double digit annual inflation rate (10% for 2015). Pandacoin operates on a Scrypt Proof-of-Stake algorithm which has an annual inflation rate locked in at a low 2.5%. The static 2.5% figure was created to simulate the 2-3% yearly inflation rate range that most first world governments try to maintain to sustain a healthy economy. Pandacoin’s cryptographic algorithm generates 2.5% annual interest for owners of Pandacoins by storing them in their PandaBank, a secure and decentralized ‘Crypto-Banking’ application installed on a desktop or laptop. PandaBank is the world’s first main storage of decentralized digital currencies with a familiar conventional internet banking interface, with similar functionalities and introduces the concept of ‘Crypto-Banking’, which allows the generation of annual compounded interest on Pandacoin. PandaBank was designed with a user experience catering to those that are new to the concept of cryptocurrencies, reminiscent of their own traditional money internet banking experiences.

Crypto Crash Course – Simple and Easy to Understand
Pandacoin makes all aspect of cryptocurrency simple and easy to understand with the Crypto Crash Course. With over 35 comprehensive articles and step-by-step tutorials covering multiple topics and frequently asked questions, Pandacoin provides all the information that someone new to cryptocurrency will need to know.

Topics covered include:
What is cryptocurrency?
What are the benefits over traditional money?
What are the risks of cryptocurrency?
What is cryptocurrency mining, algorithms, multipools and hashrates

‘Cryptocurrency Mining’ Redefined – So Easy That Anyone Can Do It
Cryptocurrencies are created through the process of solving algorithms by computer hardware or specialized ‘mining’ hardware called ASICs. In theory, anyone with a computer or desktop should be able to start obtaining a particular cryptocurrency of their choice. However, currently there is a steep learning curve for newcomers to the concept of cryptocurrency mining. A user that wishes to mine cryptocurrencies are required to find and download specialized mining programs specifically made for their hardware and fine-tune complex software settings by following guides sourced online.

Pandacoin has created an Internet Brower Miner that requires no setup to mine. All is required is just the internet browser and an internet connection, ideal for beginner miners to introduce them to the concept of cryptocurrency mining. Intermediate miners could use PandaMiner, a desktop or laptop mining application which simplifies the complicated advanced mining process into an easy to use interface with preset settings.

]]>http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16629/pandacoin-creates-personal-cryptocurrency/feed/0Against All Odds: From Iraq to Silicon Valleyhttp://www.techieinsider.com/news/16561/silicon-valley/
http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16561/silicon-valley/#commentsThu, 14 Aug 2014 14:11:27 +0000http://www.techieinsider.com/?p=16561While Facebook and similar networks ambitiously pursue a goal of “connecting the world,” an increasing number of studies highlight their dangers. Addictive voyeurism renders users potentially more isolated and lonely, defeating the core purpose of “social” networking.

Five young entrepreneurs, hailing from as far as Baghdad, want to change that. “Tivvi is a network that’s actually about collaborating with other people rather than just posting selfies,” says founder Martin Hermez.

The concept of creating together and enabling meaningful interaction through mobile is near and dear to the founders’ hearts. Hermez, born in Iraq under the reign of Saddam Hussein, escaped Baghdad due to persecution of Christians in the early 2000’s. He arrived in the US with less than a month’s rent to begin a new life. Co-founder Ish Sahni, the son of Indian immigrants, befriended him immediately, and their friendship ultimately gave rise to Tivvi.

“We want to make social media truly social,” says Hermez. Tivvi aims to be the first network geared entirely towards collaboration. The core feature of Tivvi is the “tile,” a collection of photos and videos created by two or more users. Users curate tiles, share them, and discover new tiles to contribute to across the network. Examples of current tiles include natural scenery, sports, fashion, cars, pranks, and events.

“Other networks force users into being one-dimensional,” says Sahni. “Tivvi allows people to express themselves better.” Creative freedom and self-expression are central to the founders’ philosophy, and already, the network is getting traction from musicians and artists of all stripes. “Tivvi makes the experience of sharing more lifelike – that means sharing certain things with certain people and not everything with your entire universe of friends.”

Unlike utilitarian photo-sharing apps, Tivvi is designed to be eye-catching, simple, and addictively fun. While made with a younger demographic in mind, it appeals to all ages and offers a unique way to share visual moments.

“Tivvi” is a collaborative network for photo and video sharing, founded by Martin Hermez, Ish Sahni, Kevin George, Shah Noor, and Prab Kumar. It launches August 14th for iOS, with Android versions later next year.

]]>http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16561/silicon-valley/feed/0Carsquare Makes Finding That Perfect Car Simplehttp://www.techieinsider.com/news/16540/carsquare-finding-perfect-simple/
http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16540/carsquare-finding-perfect-simple/#commentsWed, 23 Jul 2014 12:48:48 +0000http://www.techieinsider.com/?p=16540DC – based startup, Carsquare, today announced the launch of an entirely redesigned metasearch engine (think Kayak for cars). The revamped vehicle search engine platform’s mission is to simplify the process of finding the exact car for the consumer without having to sift through results on multiple vehicle listing sites.

The company has been perfecting its search functionality for the past year and this new release introduces a multitude of new features including the ability to create a personalized vehicle search profile that continuously searches through online listings and sends real-time, notifications via email or social media when profile matching results are found.

“When we set out to design this version of the platform our goal was to create a search experience that would allow people to find their ideal vehicle with the least amount of frustration. Giving the consumer one platform to search multiple sites simultaneously wasn’t enough, we wanted to create a virtual assistant that delivered the search results to you as they became available,” said Carsquare founder and CEO Khurrum Shakir

In addition to the new search automation functionality, Carsquare has introduced a new way to engage consumers trusted friends, family members, and colleagues in the vehicle search process. With Carsquare’s new “Garage” feature, users with profiles can save search results and engage their trusted circle of advisors to provide thoughts and feedback on specified vehicles.

“One of our design goals for the new platform was to enable consumers to engage their trusted advisors in the vehicle search process. We all know one or two “gear heads” that seem to know everything about cars. We wanted to make it easy for the consumer to get that trusted advice so that they can make an informed decision on what make and model best suits their needs before ever going to the dealer,” said Carsquare CMO and CTO Mikah Sellers.

According to company executives this latest round of new features is the first in a series of new features that will be released over the next few months.

“We have a robust product roadmap that will enable us to continue adding value for the consumer for some time to come,” said Carsquare founder and CEO Khurrum Shakir

In addition to the new features that the company announced, Carsquare has also completely overhauled its brand strategy, positioning, messaging, visual identity and marketing. The company has launched a new national advertising strategy that includes commercial spots on Pandora online radio, search engine marketing and display advertising on Bing and Google.

]]>http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16540/carsquare-finding-perfect-simple/feed/0New Service Enables Medical Providers to Post Prices Online and Receive Faster Paymenthttp://www.techieinsider.com/news/16534/service-enables-medical-providers/
http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16534/service-enables-medical-providers/#commentsFri, 18 Jul 2014 13:51:14 +0000http://www.techieinsider.com/?p=16534A new service aimed at simplifying the way doctors are paid for providing medical care is now inviting healthcare providers to sign up. This service, called Galen.me, provides an integrated technology platform that allows medical professionals to register and list their services for prospective patients. Prospective patients have access to web-based and mobile technology that allows them to search these physician offerings by location and price. They have opened up an online registration tool through their website http://galen.me.

Started by two brothers, the service is designed to bring mobile convenience and choice to patients paying cash for their healthcare. This includes not only the obvious uninsured population, but also appeals to insured households with high-deductibles. Physicians who list through the service have been able to offer discounted rates because of the speed and simplicity the service offers them in getting paid. Some of these savings are passed along to prospective patients making Galen.me a very attractive and convenient way for cash buyers of healthcare to find medical care.

Galen.me promises to pay a provider for the service they provide within 5 business days of completion of the service. This is in stark contrast to the delay and cost-of-collection that many providers experience today. According to research findings by Galen.me, it is common for providers who serve so-called ‘Self-Pay’ patients to wait as much as five months before collecting their fees. This is compounded by the additional costs of collecting the money and leads to decreased net collections of less than 50% of what they performed. For insured patients who have not satisfied their insurance deductible, a similar problem exists. Healthcare providers must submit a claim to the insurer, which adds many weeks of delay before the invoice for service actually reaches the patient for payment. Galen.me is only for use with privately insured or uninsured patients and specifically prohibits use by beneficiaries of government benefit plans.

The company is quick to emphasize that this is not health insurance. Galen.me is designed to help anyone who pays some cash out-of-pocket for healthcare services. While it will obviously help uninsured patients to price shop for medical service from a choice of offerings in their community, Galen.me can also help those with insurance whose medical plan deductibles are high enough to effectively make them cash buyers for the first several thousand dollars of their costs. People with such high-deductible plans may also find benefits from using the Galen.me service.

Because this is a cash transaction, there is no insurance card or approval. Galen.me claims that patients will see prices as much as 50% off of normal prices for routine visits. “The power of simplicity allows doctors to price their services without having to include the hidden costs of all the third party payment problems that exist in other healthcare arrangements,” says Dr. Eric Hoyer, Chief Medical Officer for Galen.me.

]]>http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16534/service-enables-medical-providers/feed/0MacBook Pro Gets a Boost with Bluelounge’s New Kickflip Laptop Standhttp://www.techieinsider.com/news/16529/macbook-boost-bluelounges-kickflip/
http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16529/macbook-boost-bluelounges-kickflip/#commentsWed, 16 Jul 2014 18:30:49 +0000http://www.techieinsider.com/?p=16529Taking laptops to the next level, today Bluelounge proudly announces its new MacBook Pro laptop stand, Kickflip. Kickflip is a stand that elevates laptops at an ergonomic angle, making it easier and more comfortable to work.

“Once you work from an elevated position, you won’t be able to work flat again,” said Dominic Symons, Creative Director and Founder of Bluelounge. “It just seems unnatural – and while we live at our laptops – it just makes sense to keep it as comfortable and natural as possible.”

Specifically designed for the MacBook Pro, Kickflip comes in two sizes for 13” and 15” laptops and stays affixed to the underside of the laptop using a high-tech German engineered and manufactured gel adhesive. The adhesive is formulated to form a strong bond with the laptop to hold firm yet removes without leaving a residue and can be used over again by simply cleaning the gel adhesive strip with soap and water.

Remarkably thin and extraordinarily handy, Kickflip adds no bulk to your MacBook Pro. Kickflip integrates seamlessly providing a lift when needed, while remaining incredibly inconspicuous when not in use.

Kickflip is available at a suggested retail price of $17.95 and $19.95. Bluelounge products are currently available online and at select retailers worldwide. To find a retailer nearby, please visit our store locator.

]]>http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16529/macbook-boost-bluelounges-kickflip/feed/0CreoPop, The World’s First 3D Pen with Cool Inkhttp://www.techieinsider.com/news/16496/creopop-worlds/
http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16496/creopop-worlds/#commentsFri, 20 Jun 2014 14:03:43 +0000http://www.techieinsider.com/?p=16496CreoPop today announced that the company’s crowdfunding campaign (http://igg.me/at/CreoPop/x/7989032) was fully funded in less than 24 hours on Indiegogo. CreoPop allows users to create any 3D shapes they wish using an amazing array of inks.

“Our launch day was amazing. We were 50% funded after just 65 minutes and fully funded in less than a day. We were completely blown away by the support from backers in 44 countries around the world,” said Andreas Birnik, co-founder and Marketing Wizard at CreoPop. “Moreover, we have had 18 distributors in 16 countries contact us about distributing CreoPop and several major brands are asking for OEM versions of the CreoPop pen.”

CreoPop uses stereolithography and light-sensitive ink called photopolymers. While this has previously been used for professional applications within the 3D printing industry, CreoPop is the first application of the technology in a portable consumer device. When CreoPop is operated, the ink is immediately solidified by UV diodes surrounding the nozzle of the pen. This is in contrast to other 3D pens that typically rely on heating ABS and PLA plastic to temperatures of around 250 degrees Celsius / 480 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to representing a safety hazard, melting plastic also emits an unpleasant smell which is avoided with the CreoPop’s technology.

“Having achieved our campaign funding goal, from now onwards it is all about our exciting stretch goals,” said Dmitry Starodubtsev, co-founder and Übergeek at CreoPop. “If we reach USD 100,000 we will manufacture different types of nozzles and include those for free with every CreoPop pen shipped. If we reach USD 300,000, we will introduce six new kinds of exciting inks including aromatic, elastic, glittering, magnetic, conductive and body paint ink.”

About CreoPop
CreoPop (http://www.creopop.com) is the world’s first 3D pen with cool ink. In contrast to other 3D pens, there are no hot parts, no melting plastic and no unpleasant smell. Instead, CreoPop uses photopolymers that are solidified using UV light to let users create amazing 3D designs. Since no heating is required, CreoPop is safe in a home environment with children and pets around. The most innovative feature of CreoPop is the large selection of cool inks available including different colors, elastic ink, magnetic ink, glow-in-the-dark ink, temperature sensitive ink and body paint ink.

]]>http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16496/creopop-worlds/feed/0New Search Engine Launches From Oregonhttp://www.techieinsider.com/news/16459/new-search-engine-launches/
http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16459/new-search-engine-launches/#commentsTue, 27 May 2014 11:22:44 +0000http://www.techieinsider.com/?p=16459A new search engine has launched, and it aims to take back the web from corporate search interests.

WbSrch.com is the first general English-language web search engine created since Blekko was launched in 2010. WbSrch has indexes available in 25 languages. It was written using open source tools and offers an alternative to all-knowing, user-tracking data warehouses that invisibly privilege certain services and social network marketing above more relevant content. With major engines coming under increased scrutiny by antitrust and consumer protection organizations, it has never been more important to have more competition in the world of search engines.

WbSrch doesn’t aim to be the biggest or the fastest. It does things its own way and offers search results that are not driven by popularity or social media. It gives more weight to original, useful, human-created content and doesn’t track individuals or personalize search results based on what it thinks it knows about users.

WbSrch’s philosophy is that content creators should build things for real people, not to please algorithms. Big-search algorithm changes can affect even major businesses when it’s decided that they’re benefiting from so-called “unnatural links.” But linking is what the web is about. “Nofollow” tags negate the very nature of links. Consequences like that are inevitable, though, when there are too few options in the world of search.

Quite simply, the power of search needs to be spread out so that a system that every nation’s economy depends on isn’t concentrated in the hands of so few. WbSrch is a move in that direction.

]]>http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16459/new-search-engine-launches/feed/025 Million People Now Discover with Fliporahttp://www.techieinsider.com/news/16418/million-people-discover-flipora/
http://www.techieinsider.com/news/16418/million-people-discover-flipora/#commentsFri, 09 May 2014 12:01:48 +0000http://www.techieinsider.com/?p=16418Flipora, the popular online discovery company that suggests websites to users based on their personalized interests, is growing in popularity among global adopters. The company announces that it has now has 25 million users, and is rapidly approaching 30 million.

“Every day, Flipora is helping people all over the world discover new and interesting websites,” says Jonathan Siddharth, Flipora Co-CEO. “It’s very rewarding to us on a personal level, to see the technology we developed helping people in a very real way. When someone signs up for Flipora, our recommendation engine uses machine learning to intelligently infer a person’s interests based on their web browsing history as well as their Facebook activity. The web is the world’s largest knowledge base, and Flipora’s goal is to categorize the world’s knowledge and recommend it to users based on their interests.”

“We are really excited by the growth potential for Flipora,” says Vijay Krishnan, Flipora Co-CEO. “Flipora’s user base has been almost doubling every year. We have also recorded an all-time high in new user registrations, with over 100,000 new registrations in a single day. This is a huge milestone for us. This is also the year we made the Top 10 list of social media sites for sharing, alongside Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.”

Flipora’s personalization and recommendation engine analyzes 100 million websites each day, roughly 25 times the size of Wikipedia. The service monetizes through the inclusion of ads, and Flipora has been profitable since late last year with revenues growing at a rapid pace.

Flipora Co-CEO Vijay Krishnan says, “We take a long-term view to building our company and product, which translates to a focus on having a scalable business model alongside a great product user experience. We expect to end the year with over 50 million users and to continue scaling our rapidly growing revenues. It’s exciting times ahead.”

Over the last year, Flipora has seen an astounding increase in its mobile user base. Today about 25% of Flipora’s new users worldwide sign in via mobile, and in the U.S., mobile accounts for 50% of new users. Flipora also expects to release a mobile app for iOS later this year.

Given Flipora’s strong international growth, the company is happy to announce translations in 11 new languages; German, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. This will help Flipora gain a significant foothold in many new markets.

One of the unique aspects of Flipora’s recommendation engine is its ability to do intelligent personalization automatically with minimal input from the user. Flipora uses state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms to automatically infer what topics users like, based on a user’s web browsing history and Facebook data. This lets Flipora automatically figure out what a user is currently in the mood for and make recommendations based on that.

Additionally, users can choose to follow topics and other like minded users. This personalization module,called FlipCat, can analyze a user’s web browsing history data, data from Facebook, and from other sources, and categorize it to build a fine grained, customized profile of the user’s interests. This helps the recommendation engine suggest interesting websites on topics that users will love.

Flipora is announcing the launch of an API for FlipCat that developers can request access to by emailing support(at)flipora(dot)com. FlipCat is now avaliable at http://ai.flipora.com. Flipora is also planning significant updates to its core recommendation engine in the coming months. You can receive more updates from the official Flipora Blog.

Flipora’s mission is to categorize the world’s knowledge and recommend the best of the web to users based on their interests.

“MailPix customers can now shoot, share and gift within seconds, right on their iPhone or iPad,” says Fred H. Lerner, CEO and founder, MailPix. “Our apps are socially aware, so you can import images from Facebook and Instagram, as well as the camera roll, and then choose from more than 25 gift styles. The gifts will be mailed directly to your home.”

“Our team spent countless hours reviewing apps and we believe the user interface of our Photo Gift app is the cleanest and most intuitive app for photo gifts on the market,” adds Lerner.

Gift types include MailPix’s popular Eco-friendly photo grocery bags, photo mugs, photo blankets, customized iPhone and iPad cases, photo t-shirts, and more. The app is available for download from the App Store.

Same day photos at thousands of retailers from app or PC! Everyone now has a camera in their pocket filled with priceless photos …irreplaceable memories that can be lost or forgotten and difficult to print and archive for future generations.

Our passion is to make it easy to upload, share, archive and print your photos with free storage for life. We are seamlessly integrated to print your or your friends’ 240 Billion+ Facebook and Instagram photos…and photos from any phone, device or computer. We print photos the same day at thousands of retailers from your phone app or PC and offer convenient mail-to-home shipping too!

MailPix.com is the pre-eminent site for preserving photo memories as photo books, prints, cards, enlargements and other products. Everyone now has a camera in their pocket with priceless memories. MailPix’s passion is to make it easy to upload, share and print your photos…with free storage for life.

MailPix is seamlessly integrated to print your or your friends’ 240 billion-plus Facebook and Instagram photos…and photos from any device, computer or phone.

Fred H. Lerner is the founder and CEO and is Fred’s latest startup. He previously founded Ritz Interactive which included RitzCamera.com, WolfCamera.com and others. Fred also founded two imaging companies which was acquired by Kodak and became the CEO of Kodak Processing Labs. He is a Hall of Fame recipient at the United Nations’ International Photographic Council and Past President of the Photo Marketing Association International.

Peter Tahmin, joined as co-founder and COO, MailPix.com, and was former vice president, Ritz Camera and Image, and SVP and COO of Ritz Interactive.